Marcus Freeman began his college football career as a player under Luke Fickell. Now he gets to coach against him.

No. 4 Notre Dame and Wisconsin open their season facing off on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, bringing together two head coaches whose shared history spans more than two decades.

Freeman and Fickell enter the matchup with personal and professional ties that have helped shape both programs and the coaching staffs surrounding them.

The connection between the two head coaches began when Freeman played linebacker at Ohio State from 2004 to 2008, where Fickell served as his position coach. 

Marcus Freeman played linebacker at Ohio State, where Luke Fickell served as his position coach from 2004-08.  (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

That player-coach relationship evolved nearly a decade later when Fickell hired Freeman as his linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, a role Freeman held from 2017 through 2020. 

Over those four seasons, Freeman helped build the Bearcats' defense into a nationally-renowned unit, gaining his first extended experience leading a college defense before moving onto Notre Dame in 2021.

Despite their shared past, both coaches established a distinctly different culture within their respective programs as head coach. Fickell noted that Freeman's progression into one of college football's top head coaches stems from his ability to chart his own course rather than strictly replicating the methods of his mentors.

"The ones who have the most success, like Marcus has, are ones who create an identity for themselves, not just where they've been, whether it's his time with us at Cincinnati or his time at Ohio State or his time under Jim Tressel," Fickell said.

Marcus Freeman on Cincinnati's sideline, where he worked under Luke Fickell as linebackers coach and defensive coordinator from 2017-20. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Freeman has pointed to Fickell as a foundational figure in his coaching development, highlighting specific work habits and expectations that he carried forward into his head coaching career.

"I've got a lot of respect for him," Freeman said. "I wouldn't be in this position without the investment he made in me. There's traits that every coach I've had a player, as a coach, that I have in me. When I think about Luke Fickell, I think about a tireless worker, I think about the demands that he has for his players, his coaches. And the mindset of, 'This is the way we're going to play. This is who we are. This is our identity, and we're committed to it.'"

Sunday will not mark the first time Freeman and Fickell have stood on opposite sidelines. 

In 2021, Fickell led Cincinnati to a 24-13 victory at Notre Dame Stadium, a key win during the Bearcats' run to the College Football Playoff. Freeman was Notre Dame's defensive coordinator on Brian Kelly's staff during that game before taking over the program as head coach when Kelly departed for LSU at the end of the regular season.

Luke Fickell Is 1 Win From A Wisconsin Breakthrough, But Notre Dame's In The Way

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